Liquid feeding means



Oct. 24, 1950 5, FORD 2,527,181

LIQUID FEEDING MEANS Fil ed April 9, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG]. 4!

59 Q is H\ M 28 c I I I Q Y I I HI FIG. 2.

INVENTOR BY A a 6 ATTORNEY.

F. R. FORD 2,527,181 LIQUID FEEDING MEANS Filed April 9, 1947 .2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR M W in 7L,

Y (9%? 11mm,;

H ATTQRNEY.

Patented Oct. 24, 1950 LIQUID FEEDING MEANS Frank Ronald Ford,Birmingham, England Application April 9, 1947, Serial No. 740,444 InGreat Britain November 16, 1945 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8,1946 Patent expires November 16, 1965 r 6 Claims.

This invention relates to duplicating machines of the general class inwhich the copy sheets are fed into the machine, moistened, and broughtinto pressure contact with a master sheet bearing in V reversed scriptthe matter to be reproduced, the fluid for moistening the copy sheetsbeing fed to an absorbent pad with which the copy sheets make contactbefore reaching the master sheet which is mounted on a rotatingcylinder.

More particularly, the invention has reference to the type of machine inwhich a feeding pad supplied with fluid from a tank through the mediumof wicks is automatically oscillated into and out of contact with themoistening pad during each operative cycle of the machine, means beingprovided for varying the period of such contact relatively to the periodduring which a copy sheet is moistened so that the amount of liquidsupplied to such sheet may be regulated in accordance with the thicknessand absorbent quality of the paper.

In Letters Patent No. 2,171,061, issued to me August 29, 1939, I havedescribed a moistening device in which a rocker driven from the cylindershaft oscillates a lever angularly adjustable upon I a pin, an actuatingmember on the latterbeing adapted to engage an arm or member on arockshaft carrying the feeding member and lost motion being providedbetween the actuating member and the arm or member aforesaid. In thiscase the rocker-operated lever was provided with a peg engageable in oneof a series of angularly spaced holes in the actuating member, the pincarrying the lever being movable endwise to separate the peg from theactuating member during adjustment of the latter.

The present invention has for its chief object to provide a more readilyoperable adjusting mechanism.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view in side elevation.

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view.

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation,

Figure 4 is a view in side elevation.

Figure 5 is a sectional plan view.

Figure 6 is a sectional view in side elevation.

Figures 3 to 6 inclusive are drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1 and2.

In the construction illustrated the invention is shown as applied to amoistening device similar to that described in my prior specificationNo. 532,949 now Patent No. 2,424,534 dated July 22, I941, the tank orcontainer 10 for the moistening fiuid being provided at opposite sideswith upwardly directed tubular extensions ll containing portions of acommon feed wick whose extremities dip into the fluid.

Secured to the upper ends of these tubular extensions is a rigidhorizontal plate I2 extending transversely of the machine and the top ofthe tank is provided at its ends with flanges 13 which slidably engagethe frame of the machine and serve to support the moistener as a whole.

Upstanding brackets M at the ends of the horizontal plate I2 support theends of an oscillatable element comprising a length of tubing I5 withcoaxial pivot pins 16 fixed in its ends and embraced by a U sectionmember I! of sheet metal, whose limbs project in parallel relationshipat one side of the tube and grip between them an absorbent feeding padI8 formed by the central portion of the wick aforesaid.

The tubular extensions Il may also, as described in my co-pendingapplication for Patent, Serial No. 651,265, filed March 1, 1946, containstrands of worsted which enter the 0scillatable tube through holesadjacent its ends and emerge again through holes at the central portionof such tube. The additional supply of fluid to its central portionthrough the medium of these worsted strands tends to equalize themoistening of the pad over its full length.

The pivot pin [6 at one end of the oscillatable feed element carries anarm [9 which is acted on by a spring 20, the effect of the latter beingto bias the oscillatable element having the pad 18 towards asubstantially vertical or steeply inclined position in which its freeedge projects through a longitudinal slot 2 in the horizontal plate I 2and makes contact with a moistening pad 2| in an angle-section carrier22 which is detachably secured to the'underside of the plate 12.

Freely mounted on this pivot pin 1 6 of the feed element is a rocker 23adapted to be located by means hereinafter described in any one of avariety of angular positions relatively to the feed element.

Suitable means are provided whereby, at each revolution of the cylinder,this rocker 23 is displaced angularly in such a manner as to separatethe feeding pad from the moistening pad, the angular setting of therocker in relation to the feed element determining the duration of theperiod of contact between the two pads and hence the quantity of fluidfed to the moistening pad at each operative cycle of the machine.

The angular location of the rocker 23 is controlled by setting meanscarried on the pin i 6 and conveniently comprising an arm 24 fixedlymounted on the pivot pin l6 by a screw disposed alongside the rocker 23.

The latter is formed at the side remote from its operative profile 26with a concentric portion formed with gear teeth 21 engaging a pinion 23on a short spindle 29 carried by the arm 24.

This gearing can be actuated to adjust the rocker 23 upon the pivot pin[6 by means of a manually operable setting wheel 30 mounted on thespindle 29 at the side of the arm 24 remote from the pinion 28.

This setting wheel may have a milled or knurled periphery with angularlyspaced flats 3| each bearing a numeral. For example, the numerals l to 6may be employed, and any of these numerals may be aligned with an indexmark at the free end of the arm to indicate a different setting of thecam.

Preferably the free end of the arm 24 has a lateral lug 32 which extendsbeyond the pinion and the extremity 33 of this lug is directed towardsthe pivot pin [6 in parallel relationship with the arm.

This end portion 33 of the lug is drilled to provide a second bearingfor the pinion spindle 29 and the latter may be provided at the endremote from the setting wheel with a disc 34 having a serrated edge 35acted upon by a spring plate 36 carried by the lug, so that the pinionspindle is frictionally located in any position to which it may beadjusted.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned end portion of the lug may overlap theperiphery of the rocker 23 and thus serve to position the latter endwiseof the pivot pin IS on which it is freely mounted.

The assembly 23, 24 and 26 turns as a unit around the axis of the pin 16when the rocker 23 is moved by a lever 31 pivoted to the frame at 38 andoscillated by an eccentric 39 on the cylinder shaft. A spring 40 isprovided keeping the roller 4| in contact with the eccentric.

During each revolution of the cylinder the lever 31 is rocked on itspivot by the eccentric 49 on the cylinder shaft. One end of the leveracts 25 and upon the edge of the rocker 2i and causes the 4 rocker tooscillate. The rocker and the pinion 28 are locked together againstrelative rotation by the spring 36, so that the spindle 29 when therocker is oscillated moves bodily around the axis of the shaft 15, andbecause the arm 24 is fixed to the pivot Hi the oscillating motion istransmitted to the shaft l5, causing the feeding pad 18 to be moved awayfrom the moistening pad 2|. Adjustments of the shaft l3 cause the rocker23 to be adjusted around the axis of the pivot 16, bring the edge 26further into or further away from the orbit of the outer end of thelever 31.

What I claim then is:

1. A liquid feeding means including a stationary moistening pad, anoscillating feed pad arranged f or intermittent contact with saidmoistening pad, and means for adjusting the degree of each contactbetween the feeding pad and the moistening pad during the operativecycle of the machine, including an oscillating shaft carrying thefeeding pad, an arm fixed on said shaft, a rocker mounted on said shaftso that it can turn thereon, a spindle mounted in said arm so that itcan rotate, said spindle being parallel to but spaced from said shaft, asetting member fixed on said spindle whereby the spindle may be rotated,a pinion fixed on said spindle, said rocker having teeth engaged by saidpinion, and means for rocking said rocker around the axis of said shaft.

2. A liquid feeding means including a stationary moistening pad, anoscillating feed pad arranged for intermittent contact with saidmoistening pad, and means for adjusting the degree of each contactbetween the feeding pad and the moistening pad during the operativecycle of the machine, including an oscillating shaft carrying thefeeding pad, an arm fixed on said shaft, a rocker mounted on said shaftso that it can turn thereon, a spindle mounted in said arm so that itcan rotate, said spindle being parallel to but spaced from said shaft,means for frictionally loading said spindle against rotation, a settingmember fixed on said spindle whereby the spindle may be rotated, apinion fixed on said spindle, said rocker having teeth engaged by saidpinion, and means for rocking said rocker around the axis of said shaft.

3. A liquid feeding means including a stationary moistening pad, anoscillating feed pad arranged for intermittent contact with saidmoistening pad, and means for adjusting the degree of each contactbetween the feeding pad and the moistening pad during the operativecycle of the machine, including an oscillating shaft carrying thefeeding pad, said shaft bein biased towards the position it occupieswhen the feeding and moistening pads are in contact, an arm fixed onsaid shaft, a rocker mounted on said shaft so that it can turn thereon,a spindle mounted in said arm so that it can rotate, said spindle beingparallel to but spaced from said shaft, means for frictionally loadingsaid spindle against rotation, a setting member fixed on said spindlewhereby the spindle may be rotated, a pinion fixed on said spindle, saidrocker having teeth engaged by said pinion, and means for rocking saidrocker around the axis of said shaft.

4. A liquid feeding means including a stationary moistening pad, anoscillating feed pad arranged for intermittent contact with saidmoistening pad, and means for adjusting the degree of each contactbetween the feeding pad and the moistening pad during the operativecycle of the machine, including an oscillating shaft carrying thefeeding pad, an arm fixed on said shaft, a rocker mounted on said shaftso that it can turn thereon, said arm and said rocker being disposedside by side with adjacent faces in contact, a spindle mounted in saidarm so that it can rotate, said spindle being parallel to but spacedfrom said shaft, a setting member fixed on said spindle whereby thespindle may be rotated, a pinion fixed on said spindle, one end of saidarm being of U form and embracing said pinion and providing a portionforming a second support for said spindle, said rocker having teethengaged by said pinion, and means for rocking said rocker around theaxis of said shaft.

5. A liquid feeding means including a stationary moistening pad, anoscillating feed pad arranged for intermittent contact with saidmoistening pad, and means for adjusting the degree of each contactbetween the feeding pad and the moistening pad during the operativecycle of the machine, including an oscillating shaft carrying thefeeding pad, an arm fixed on said shaft, a rocker mounted on said shaftso that it can turn thereon, a spindle mounted in said arm so that itcan rotate, said spindle being parallel to but spaced from said shaft, aserrated disc fixed on said spindle, a spring on said arm engaging saidserrations for frictionally loading said spindle against rotation, asetting member fixed on said spindle whereby the spindle may be rotated,a pinion fixed on said spindle, said rocker having teeth engaged by saidpinion, and means for rocking said rocker around the axis of said shaft.

6. A liquid feeding means including a stationary moistening pad, anoscillating feed pad arranged for intermittent contact with saidmoistening pad, and means for adjusting the degree of each contactbetween the feeding pad and the moistening pad during the operativecycle of the machine, including an oscillating shaft carrying thefeeding pad, an arm fixed on said shaft, a rocker mounted on said shaftso that it can turn thereon, said arm and said rocker being disposedside by side with adjacent faces in contact, a spindle mounted in saidarm so that it can rotate, said spindle being parallel to but spacedfrom said shaft, a setting member fixed on said spindle whereby thespindle may be rotated, a pinion fixed on said spindle, one end of saidarm FRANK RONALD FORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,171,061 Ford Aug, 29, 19392,418,341 Ford Apr. 1, 1947 2,424,534 Ford July 22, 1947

